China ancient sculpture has experienced several development periods.

Ancient sculpture in China experienced four periods: germination, maturity and prosperity, peak and low tide.

1. Germination period: Neolithic Age to Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

The ancient sculpture art in China can be traced back to more than 4000 BC. The appearance of stone tools and pottery in this period opened the history of sculpture in China. His sculptures focus on animal-shaped vessels, decorations and figures. They are small in size, rough in shape and have a strong human touch. Bronze art represents the highest level of sculpture in Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Although the bronze works of this period have many practical purposes, they have initially possessed the characteristics of sculpture art. Some exaggerated, deformed and peculiar decorative patterns render a dignified and mysterious atmosphere, forming artistic characteristics of solemnity, magnificence, heroic temperament and perverse image, which prominently reflects people's aesthetic concepts and understanding of the natural environment in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Ding is a typical representative of sculpture in this period.

2. Mature and prosperous period: Qin, Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.

Sculpture in the Qin and Han dynasties advanced by leaps and bounds, forming the first peak in the history of development. Thousands of terracotta warriors and horses unearthed in Lintong show the world the brilliant achievements of sculpture art in Qin Dynasty. Their characters are as numerous, varied and lifelike as real people. Horse figurines are realistic, vigorous and vivid. Figure sculpture pays more attention to the image portrayal of the face, with myriad expressions and fine realism.

On the basis of inheriting the majesty and solemnity of Qin Dynasty, the sculptures in Han Dynasty highlight the vigorous artistic personality. Tomb sculptures in this period were particularly developed, which highlighted the majestic trend and overall beauty of stone carvings in form. Horse stepping on Xiongnu is the most important stone carving before Huo Qubing's tomb. It uses symbolism to symbolize Huo Qubing and his heroic athletes with majestic and tall horses; A grim-faced figure trampled by a horse symbolizes a defeated slave owner and a noble invader. The image is very eye-catching, it is a model of the perfect unity of ideology and artistry, and it is a symbol of the epoch-making achievements of the monument carving in the Western Han Dynasty.

Originated in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Buddha sculpture has reached an unprecedented level in its artistic style diversity and skill proficiency. At this time, the sculptures of Buddha statues have both a broad and dignified realm and an elegant and vivid aesthetic feeling. Sculpture production is large in scale and quantity, and artistic skills have been greatly improved. In reflecting the breadth and depth of social life, its position and role in society have surpassed that of the previous generation to varying degrees. People of all ethnic groups communicate with each other in sculpture art, which promotes the development of sculpture and has certain regional characteristics under the general style of the times.

3. Peak period: Sui and Tang Dynasties

Sui and Tang Dynasties is the period when the ancient sculpture art in China entered a more mature stage and achieved the highest achievement, which is mainly reflected in the Buddhist art, and Buddhist statues with richer content, wider scope of expression and more skillful skills appeared. At the same time, artists and craftsmen engaged in sculpture also appeared more and created a number of epoch-making works. Sculptures other than religious themes are the most important. On the other hand, it embodies the level and style of sculpture art in Tang Dynasty.

The Sui Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty was the last peak of ancient large-scale cave sculpture, and cave temples spread all over the north, northwest and Bashu areas. The existing famous grottoes are: Yunmen Mountain, Tuoshan Grottoes, Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Longmen Grottoes, Bingling Temple Grottoes, Tianlongshan Grottoes, Guangyuan Thousand Buddha Cliffs and Huangze Temple Statues. Among them, the colored sculptures in Dunhuang Grottoes and the sculptures in Fengxian Temple in Longmen have the highest artistic level, and the artistic style in Tang Dynasty is also the most distinctive. Longmen Grottoes, located in Luoyang, Henan Province, were excavated during the Wei, Jin and Tang Dynasties, but after thousands of years of wind and rain, they still retain mysterious and gorgeous colors. The group sculptures of Fengxian Temple in Longmen show the strength of the Tang Dynasty empire. At this time, the sculpture art of Buddha statues has gradually got rid of the influence of foreign Buddha statues and moved towards the maturity of nationalization of sculpture works.

4. Low tide period: from the Tang Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty.

Sculpture in Song and Yuan Dynasties lacked the grand scale and unrestrained momentum in Sui and Tang Dynasties, but developed in the meticulous carving of realistic techniques. Religious sculptures have played an important role, and the custom of digging grottoes has declined, and temple sculptures still have a certain scale. Due to the further secularization of religious art, the idealized elements in the statues of gods and buddhas are obviously weakened, and the atmosphere of real life is greatly enhanced, especially the statues of bodhisattvas, arhats and waiters are almost the portrayal of real life figures. After the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the sculptures in Song Dynasty became more life-oriented and secularized, the creative techniques tended to be realistic, and the materials were more widely used. The colored sculptures in the Song Dynasty were more developed, and the Buddha statues changed greatly compared with those in the Tang Dynasty. At this time, Guanyin Bodhisattva was the majority of Buddha statues. Song Ling's exterior decoration imitates the Tang Dynasty, but the expression technique is mainly realism, and the stone carving is more dignified and docile. The excessive secularization of sculpture in Song Dynasty seriously weakened the memorial and permanence of sculpture art, and the pursuit of spatial layout and physical quantity of its works was not as good as that of the previous generation.

Buddhist statues of Lamaism appeared in temples in the Yuan Dynasty, and imperial tombs lacked the spirit of Han and Tang Dynasties. From the overall development of sculpture, the theme of Song Dynasty to Yuan Dynasty changed from Tang Dynasty. Although the carving techniques are exquisite and realistic, the whole sculpture is not solid and powerful, and the modeling lacks deep and heroic spirit, which is the period when ancient Chinese sculpture is in decline.

Sculpture in Ming and Qing dynasties continued to develop along the ancient tradition, showing a uniform and secular face. The progress of sculpture art is mainly manifested in the decline of worship consciousness and the growth of secular aesthetic taste. There are all kinds of gods in all kinds of temples, which are becoming more and more secular and folk from subject matter to expression, forming a finely crafted, slender and brightly colored artistic style. Buddhist grotto statues have declined sharply. Although there are some excellent secular works, they are generally stereotyped and lifeless, and idols such as city gods, land and Guandi have increased. Compared with the previous generation, the Ming and Qing tombs have larger surface decoration, more images, exquisite layout and skillful craftsmanship, but they lack both the detachment of the Tang Dynasty and the grandeur of the Han Dynasty. At this time, the works can better satisfy people's pleasure function. The sculpture varieties that have been significantly developed are small desk sculpture and craft decoration sculpture, which are full of vitality and diverse colors. Such as clay, pottery and porcelain, in Ming and Qing dynasties, there were Shiwan ceramics in Guangzhou, Dehua porcelain in Fujian, Chaoan lacquer mud in Guangdong and Huishan mud in Wuxi. Sculpture in Ming and Qing Dynasties obviously followed the style of Tang and Song Dynasties. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, stone buddhas almost disappeared, and temple statues gradually developed and tended to be stylized.